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James Arthur
James Andrew Arthur '(born 2 March 1988) is an English singer-songwriter, rapper and guitarist from Middlesborough who won Series 9 of ''The X Factor. He was a part of the Boys category, mentored by Nicole Scherzinger. Personal Life When he was a year old, his parents divorced and he moved to Bahrain before returning to the UK when he was in his teens. He started writing songs at the age of 15 and joined several bands but had no success. He also moved into a bedsit and applied for the first series of The Voice UK, only making it as far as the Top 200. The X Factor With both parents in attendance, he auditioned for Series 9 in front of the judges and audience, wowing everyone with his rendition of "Young" by judge Tulisa Contostavlos. From there he made it all the way to judges' houses as part of the Boys category mentored by Nicole Scherzinger. She selected him as one of her Top 3 for the live shows. After the second live show, he suffered an anxiety attack backstage but since it wasn't bad enough for him to go to the hospital, he was able to continue with the show. He continued to wow the public every week with his vocals and his ability to emotionally connect with a song. In Week 7 he found himself in the Bottom 2 alongside Ella Henderson. There was much confusion over the result as both had been favourites to make it to the final. As the judges' vote was deadlocked, the public result revealed that Ella had gained the fewest votes and would be leaving the competition. This result came as a shock as she had been a favourite to win the series. From then on, James, who had only been in the Top 5 in three times, topped the vote each week and made it all the way to the final with Jahméne Douglas and Christopher Maloney. On December 9, he was announced as the winner and also made history as the first-ever winner who had previously been in the Bottom 2. His first single, a cover of the Shontelle hit "Impossible", was released after the final. Within 48 hours after its release, it became the fastest-selling single in X Factor UK history with 187,000 downloads sold. "Impossible" has since gone to hit number 1 on the UK Singles Charts, has sold over 1.3 million copies and earned Arthur a nomination for a BRIT Award. The song has even hit the top 10 in Ireland, Australia, Switzerland, and Slovakia. It is now the best-selling X Factor winner's single ever and as of 2016 the biggest selling single by a X Factor UK act. Performances Post The X Factor On August 7, 2013, Arthur announced via Twitter that his new single, "You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You", would be released to UK radio on September 9, 2013. It was officially released on iTunes and other digital retailers on October 20, 2013. It debuted at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart behind New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde's hit "Royals". His self-titled debut album, which features collaborations with Emeli Sande and Chasing Grace, was released on November 4, 2013, debuting at #2 on the UK Albums Chart. The same month he performed his single "Recovery" on the eighth live show of Series 10 of The X Factor and afterwards gave an on-air apology for his behavior in the press and on Twitter saying that he had disgraced himself as a winner of the show. He handed control of his Twitter account over to his management and soon cancelled a week of public engagements, citing exhaustion. Tour Arthur kicked off his own 37-date concert tour across Europe on January 5, 2014. He later hit the road for The Story So Far tour in May 2015. "I'll Blow You Up" controversy On April 5, 2014, several media outlets reported that Arthur had been dropped by Syco Music. He went on Twitter to deny claims that he had been dropped due to a song called "I'll Blow You Up". He even said that he was still signed to Syco Music until May 30, 2014 when he admitted that he had indeed been dropped. Second album: Back from the Edge (2015 - present) In 2015 he signed a new deal with Columbia Records to release his second album "Back from the Edge". In January 2016, he released a song called "The Truth" which would feature on VH1 show "Family Therapy" in the US. In September 2016, he released his comeback single "Say You Won't Let Go", the first from his second studio album, and confirmed that he had been re-signed to Syco Music. The single entered the UK charts at #25 on September 16 before peaking at #1 two weeks later, making him the first male winner to have two UK chart toppers. He also admitted in an interview that when he applied for The X Factor he was not in a good place mentally and during the time of his Twitter outbursts, he suffered a mental breakdown. He also mentioned that after being dropped by Syco he contemplated suicide. He has since become an ambassador for UK mental health charity SANE and performed his #1 single on the first results show of Series 13. Discography '''Singles: * "Impossible" (2012) * "You're Nobody 'til Someone Loves You" (2013) * "Recovery" (2013) * "Get Down" (2013) * "Say You Won't Let Go" (2016) Albums: * James Arthur ''(2013) * ''Back from the Edge (2016) Category:The X Factor (UK) Category:Series 9 Category:Contestants Category:Contestants (Series 9) Category:The X Factor (UK) Contestants Category:Male Contestants Category:Finalists Category:Finalists (Series 9) Category:Boys Category:Boys (Series 9) Category:Mentored by Nicole Scherzinger Category:Winners Category:Live Tour 2013